Indian Society for Trenchless Technology

Why dig Trenches when there are better solutions

No Dig India Show 2018The journey of Trenchless Standardisation, that started in India in 2007, has seen development of codes of practice of five most popular Trenchless techniques. In the year 2017, first revision of four codes, and second revision of one code has also been released.

Report on 2nd ADB Training Program on Trenchless Technology for Urban Projects

1. Knowledge Summary

Trenchless technology is the most effective tools for developing and managing subsurface utility networks. It assists in developing, maintaining and managing buried utilities without excavating continuous trenches. These attribute helps avoiding damage to aboveground infrastructure and assets at one hand, and concluding the project faster than conventional open-cut construction methods at other.

These techniques fall under three categories, new installation, rehabilitation, and replacement techniques. New Installation techniques help creating subsurface cavities while avoiding natural or manmade obstacles. Certain techniques are capable to install utilities across water bodies/table, which can create problems for open-cut projects by flooding or accidents. Rehabilitation techniques help repairing dilapidated buried cavities/ pipelines/ structures ensuring usage of the original pipe alignment thus saving on the costs of appurtenances and other structures. Replacement techniques help in replacing the damaged buried utilities by cracking or bursting and pulling the new pipe there. Since these techniques require remote operations, correct sub-surface information is an essential input for trenchless projects to avoid damages to existing infrastructure. This information is gathered through Subsurface Utility Engineering techniques, Geotechnical Investigation, and Pipeline Inspection methods.

In addition, technology can also be quite effective in concluding stalled / delayed urban subsurface projects, being executed through conventional methods and facing impediments like high watertable, land acquisition issues, inaccessibility, and likewise situations. Techniques, on account of remote operation capabilities, can help in overcoming such impediments and therefore the requirement of Trenchless in such projects also.

These techniques are applied engineering processes utilizing inputs from several conventional engineering streams. This, in turn, leads to substantial knowledge gap since the current utility owners and practicing construction professionals do not have adequate understanding & appreciation of this technology. Benefits of these techniques in subsurface construction and maintenance projects are quite immense and their application is must.

Actions for the ingress of trenchless in urban projects must include actions focused at cultivating trenchless skills in planning & executing engineers, local contractors, networking with current trenchless technologists apart from others. Stepwise capacity building process can be as follows:

1. Development of library at project sites to enable working engineers to have access to the publications books & journals on TT Techniques.

2. Seeking assistance of IndSTT in creating networks & discussion groups, where the Project / Execution engineers could interact with the practicing technologists & experts in the field. The engineers could join the society as members. This would help to bridge the sector knowledge gap through various initiatives like training programs, both short as well as full time diploma programs, technical & procedural books, contract documents and advisory assistance as mentors.

3. Engineers may be enrolled in short / long term trenchless training programs.

4. Tailor made programs, focused at the specific project can be conducted on project level.

5. Development of local contractors to enhance the operational sustainability of trenchless through trainings and networking with national & international stakeholders.

Through above capacity building process application of trenchless techniques in urban projects can be enhanced and the benefits could be achieved.

2. Preamble

ADB has agreed to assist Government of India and had requested Indian Society for Trenchless Technology (IndSTT) to sensitize about 30 senior and middle management staff of urban sector projects from state governments about various trenchless techniques, methods of their selection, standard schedule of rates, advantages when compared with traditional methods etc. at a training workshop in Kolkata. Based on the registrations received by ADB, 15 government staff participated in this three day workshop.